Le Tennis Thread [R]

Gasquet made an amazing comeback against Roddick ! I really thought he would lose in three sets.

 

I'll play...

Federer will never be borg's equal, no matter how many Wimbledons he wins, until he wins the French Open. What Borg did in winning majors held on two vastly different surfaces right after one another four years running, is a feat no other player has accomplished in the Open era. IMO, Borg trails only Laver in greatness. Lendl gets my nod for the third greatest ever because of his having to overcome McEnroe and Connors in the same era. Sampras right there at #4.

 

I consider Federer the best ever. What I find impressive about his Wimbledon run is that he's done it over almost 2 completely different eras of grass court tennis. When he first won it (and when he was successful as a junior), the tournament was dominated by big serve and volley types. In large part due to technology, grass court tennis has shifted more to big hitting returners with players hitting clean winners in baseline rallys.

The other thing I like about Federer is almost every match he hits some type of amazing shot you almost never see anyone else hit, that looks like it was a complete stroke of luck. If it happened just once, I'd chalk it up to luck, but since it happens so frequently, I suspect he actually practices those impossible shots. It's like Tiger Woods- what puts him on another level isn't just the number of tournaments or majors he wins, its when he hits a shot that no one else would even dream of attempting and leaves you thinking, "Did I just see that? Are you kidding me?" There's a subtle artistry to Federer's game that I enjoy watching. Guys like Nadal and Roddick don't have that type of magic- they can hit impossible shots, but almost always driven by power and effort. Federer is more like a kung fu master.

In the women's game, my favorite player is Henin, for somewhat similar reasons. I don't care for the over the top ball smashing of players like Sharapova and the Williams sisters.

 

Better than two-time Grand Slammer Rod Laver (who, BTW, won those Slams seven years apart)?

Are you referring to racquet technology or to groundskeeping technology? The former wouldn't affect one style over the other, and the latter, if it has taken place (I'm asking), would help serve and volleyers more than all-courters or baseliners. Borg has said in interviews that he feared the early rounds most because the surface was smoother and slicker- prone to favor the serve and volleyer even more than grass aready does. By the time he reached the quarterfinal round, the grass has been distressed somewhat, making it a bit closer to the clay on which he was truly unbeatable.

I'll agree with this. Federer is the entertainer, while Nadal brings his lunchbox to work with him.

 

According to the TV announcers, the change is mostly due to better strings, which allow much better spin control on groundstrokes. The contrast is evident in how center court at Wimbledon gets worn down over the two weeks of play. This year, the area behind the baseline got chewed up, while the grass closer to the net was still in very good condition. During the telecast, they focused at one point at all the dust Nadal was kicking up when serving. In previous decades (which Mac noted when they showed flashbacks to his final against Borg) the area around the service line was much more worn, because of more serve and volleying. McEnroe talked about how in the old days you would get more bad bounces later in the tournament, but now the ball bounces more regular.

When Agassi won, it was surprising, because he did it mostly with great returning. Now, Nadal can be a repeat finalist with virtually no net play and no one blinks twice.

As far as Laver vs. Federer, I think choosing between greats in different eras is always largely subjective, but I don't hold the lack of a grand slam against Federer to any degree. He has proven sustained dominance on all surfaces and the only thing that has stood between him and the French Open the last few years has been someone who I think will go down in history as one of the best clay court players ever.

Another player I like to watch is Marcos Baghdatis.

I wish a more team/country oriented competition like Davis Cup would catch on more in the U.S. Some of Sampras's best performances came in Davis Cup and no one paid attention.